Chamber and committees

Following the urgent roundtable meeting I chaired on 4 November, I met with partners and representatives from across the sector on 8 December. The key outcomes were a focus on training and prevention, with the Violence Reduction Unit supporting Police Scotland and Night Time Economy Partners to continue to roll out bystander training to raise awareness for staff to help keep people safe.

Police Scotland’s Strategic Gold Command continues to monitor the situation, and are working closely with third sector and partner organisations, looking into further protective and preventative measures to combat drink spiking, including a public awareness campaign focused on bystanders and perpetrators. We want people to report if they see something suspicious and to step in if they think someone may be at risk or see someone behaving suspiciously.

I would encourage anyone who believes they have had their drink spiked or been assaulted in this way to contact Police Scotland on 101 or in an emergency 999.

As you are aware, our NHS is currently facing the most difficult circumstances in its history due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This is exacerbated at present due to the potential risk posed by the Omicron variant to our healthcare system. This means Health Boards are having to make very difficult decisions about prioritising care, and I know this has an impact on everyone who is waiting for support for their health at this time.

We recognise that this includes people experiencing chronic pain, and that is why we are providing funding to enhance the capacity of pain management care through the Chronic Pain Winter Support Fund. We will shortly announce the outcome of this funding call. The projects we fund will boost the support available for people with chronic pain at the national and local level to help them maintain their health and wellbeing over the months ahead.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05156 on 10 January 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05035 on 3 December 2021. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

This procedure is usually performed in an outpatient setting. Public Health Scotland can confirm that the SMR00 dataset contains outpatient clinic records where spirometry is listed as the main operation.

The Scottish Government recognises how important free bus travel will be to those young people under the age of 22 who need to make essential journeys during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. For this reason the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme remains set to come into operation on 31 January 2022. Details on how to apply are available on the Transport Scotland website ( https://www.transport.gov.scot/concessionary-travel/young-persons-free-bus-travel-scheme/#69510 ). At this time, given the high levels of transmission associated with the Omicron variant, we are asking that only those with an essential need to travel by bus apply and that anyone travelling should follow the latest advice to keep themselves and others safe. The high profile marketing campaign which was planned to accompany the opening of the application process has been delayed until a time when it better aligns with wider public messaging, once current guidance on staying at home as much as possible and avoiding mixing in larger groups has been eased. As a result, initial usage of the scheme is expected to be less than it would otherwise have been.

The Scottish Government has enough testing stock to meet demand into next year and we are working with the UK Government on procuring additional stocks.

The Scottish Government recognises the impact that the most recent set of restrictions has had on catering and events businesses and we are engaging with the sector on developing an appropriate package of support. We are working with businesses to develop and deliver funding as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Waiting time statistics on the waits experienced by patients for first appointments with chronic pain services can be found on the PHS website at the following link: https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/chronic-pain-waiting-times . Data is available from the quarter ending 31st December 2015 to the quarter ending 30th September 2021.

A set of data tables for the most recent publication, which was released on 14th December 2021, can be found at the link above underneath the sub-heading of ‘Data files’. Table 3 in this file shows the distribution of wait for patients who have been seen for a first appointment with data displayed in 3 week time bands from 0 – 3 weeks up to 52+ weeks. Data for each time band is available as the number of patients and the percentage of patients who experienced that length of wait.

The statistics published in the tables above are based on aggregate data submissions obtained from the 14 NHS Boards. Waiting times experienced by patients are reported as the number and percentage of patients in each time band. An average (mean) waiting time is not calculated.

An extension of military aid to NHS Lanarkshire has been approved for the period 7 January until 4 February 2022, by the Scottish Government and the Ministry of Defence.